


160°F

by mondostoupee



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Anal Sex, Asphyxiation, Banter, Canon Compliant, Flirting, Hand Jobs, Insecurity, Internalized Homophobia, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Rough Kissing, The Sauna Scene, i only had like five episodes to work with :), if it becomes out of character please forgive me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:00:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27712400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mondostoupee/pseuds/mondostoupee
Summary: “I’ll ask you one last time, Kiyotaka,” Mondo murmurs. “What did you mean about not being interested in girls?”“I think,” whispers Taka, “that you knew what I meant.”“Yeah. I was just makin’ sure.”-(what happened after makoto naegi left.)
Relationships: Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo
Comments: 74
Kudos: 561





	160°F

**Author's Note:**

> this is intended to accompany the anime scene, rather than the game scene (in which they're more tired and it's way gayer and some of the dialogue would make this fic redundant at the beginning). but it's also a blend of both, so just keep in mind.  
> *also ignore that i didn't account for dorm room cameras. let's say monokuma just didn't care.*  
> **very loosely edited, will continue to update in the next few days as i find mistakes. i just got sick of writing it and wanted to finish it as fast as possible. there WILL be minor errors.**

“You look like a princess in that cape, Owada, why don’t you take it off already?”

“Why? Still afraid you’ll lose to me even while I’ve got ten times more layers on than you do?”

“Of course not! I’d just prefer to not get blamed for your death when I walk out of here with your corpse after you die of heat exhaustion!”

“Ha!” Mondo lifts his head and barks a sharp laugh; sweat and spit fly from his mouth as he smacks his knee. “Just give it up, Ishimaru, you’ve proved your point.”

Taka huffs a breath and refocuses on his fists curled tightly between his knees. It’s true that they’ve been in here much too long--once the twenty minute threshold was crossed, he had half a mind to suggest they resort to less dehydrating means of competition. But, clearly, his limited pride got the best of him and kept him glued to his seat. He was tempted to speak up again after Makoto left--and, again, he did not.

So now, here he is, sweating his body’s entire supply of water out in some foolish game. He keeps stealing glances at the young man next to him, and the mere sight of his bulk swathed in thick, thick leather is enough to make him grimace. “Please, kyoudai,” Taka insists, a note of pleading leaking into his voice. “You really should remove your coat.”

Mondo makes a  _ tch _ sound. “Kyoudai, huh? You tryna appeal to my kindness or sum’?”

“Owada--”

“Sounds like you’re contending, ain’t that right?”

Taka gives a long, frustrated groan. Lucky for Mondo, his exasperation has been burnt out by the heat; otherwise, he’d unleash upon this stubborn delinquent. He suddenly thinks of a better way to convince the man to stop actively killing himself: “Then I must assume you have something to hide.”

He feels a hint of pride when Mondo pauses. “The fuck you mean?” he growls.

Taka casts him an innocent look. “The reason you won’t take off your coat,” he lightly explains. “Maybe you have some insecurities about your physical appearance? Of course, no need to defend yourself, I simply--”

“Hell no! Insecurities? Are you  _ shitting _ me?” It’s that easy. Mondo stands sharply and tugs his coat off of his arms and abdomen; Taka watches as he balls it up and flings it against the sauna entrance. For an instant, his gaze is drawn to the plentiful curves sharpening Mondo’s arms. It’s almost disgusting, how many muscles the man has, and it’s enough to make Taka swallow hard. Out of admiration, or submission, or something else entirely, it’s hardly worth pondering. 

Clearly pleased with himself, Mondo turns back to Taka and folds his arms over his broad chest. Taka glances at the translucent tank pulled tight over his abs before firmly meeting the man’s fiery eyes. “Take a good long look at me, Taka,” says Mondo, and Taka obliges (not that he needed to be asked). “You see anything worth bein’ insecure about?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Taka admits. It’s hard to tell if the heat in his neck and ears is external or internal.

“Damn straight! So don’t you dare be runnin’ your mouth like that, sayin’ I’m insecure or whatever the shit it was.” Mondo deposits himself back on the seat with some grunt of satisfaction. Taka’s eyes roam over his glossy figure for another few seconds before he angrily pulls them away, scolding himself in his head for indulging in such a thing.

“I got you to remove your coat, though, didn’t I?” he points out smugly.

“Whatever, dude. I was planning on it, anyway, so--don’t you be thinking you have any fuckin’ say about what I do,  _ ever _ .”

Taka allows himself a little smile. He’s starting to reluctantly appreciate this guy--or maybe it's just because his body can't handle hating someone as irritating as him. It's simply too much effort to keep himself from chastising him and setting him straight, so perhaps it would be easier to accept Mondo for what he is. It doesn't help that there's something oddly endearing about the man's resolution.

And it makes him wonder--for someone as sculpted and handsome as Mondo, how is it that the biker has never once mentioned a girlfriend? Surely he must have left someone behind, in whatever lives they had before they were snatched away to this place. Faulty as their memories may be, Taka is certain they would all remember any significant others--and he’s also certain that Mondo must have a number of them.

In the tense silence that stretches out between them, it’s all too easy to pose this question. “Mondo, do you have a girlfriend?” 

The larger man visibly flinches at the inquiry. “The fuck?” he demands, turning his whole body towards Taka. “Where the hell did that come from? Why do you care?”

Taka shrugs and looks away. “I’m just trying to make...conversation. No need to be so harsh.”

“Uh-uh. You’re not softening me up, buddy--I’m not letting you distract me like that. No way.”

“If you’re distracted, that’s your own fault,” Taka retorts. “I was just curious about you. If you don’t want to answer, for whatever reason, then so be it.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to answer,” Mondo snaps. And then, hardly ten seconds later: “If you’re gonna be so damn nosy, no, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

The blend of delight that Mondo actually answered and confusion  _ at  _ his answer makes it a struggle for Taka to figure out a proper response. He settles on simply saying, “Okay.” 

He would ask  _ why, _ but it seems like he’s already nudged Mondo onto a track of oversharing without even having to prompt the rest. “Not a lotta girls int’rested in bikers like me, y’know?” he snorts. “Too rough for ‘em. Too many guns and glory and all that. Actually, now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure the only guy who even  _ spoke _ to a damn girl--” 

Just like that, Mondo freezes, and his eyes dart away. Taka leans forward, curious about the man’s hesitance. “Who? Who was it?” he presses.

“Nevermind,” Mondo says, his lip pulled back in something like a scowl. “Anyway, point is, none of us had any chicks. Hell, I don’t think half of ‘em were even interested in them. But what about you, huh? Any secret lovers sendin’ love notes to your stupid ass?” He wiggles his fingers at Taka at the last part, and Taka bats them away with an air of exasperation.

“Obviously not.”

“Well, I figured the answer was no, but I wouldn’t say it was  _ obvious, _ ” Mondo muses. “Why not?”

Taka falters. He didn’t expect Mondo to follow up. How does he say that he--well, that he isn’t in the slightest bit interested in ladies? Besides, he figures Mondo would just think he doesn’t want to admit that his loud, blunt demeanor typically dissuades potential love interests from speaking to him. (Which, he thinks, it does.)

So he tries to beat around the bush, which is something he’s never been good at. “They’re--distractions,” he stammers. “I don’t see the point in spending time on those things. What’s the point of courting someone if it’ll inevitably end in heartache?”

Mondo snorts and leans back in his seat. He looks much too comfortable for someone who has been sweltering in 160-degree heat for an hour. “It doesn’t always end like that. Besides, ain’t that half the fun?”

He laughs again when Taka’s face tightens with horror. “No!” he gasps over Mondo’s snickering. “Why would you say that? Why would anyone intentionally invite themselves into such--masochistic endeavors?”

“ _ Masochistic endea- _ -boy, you really are a character.” Mondo wipes his face, though it doesn’t do much good. “It’s just part of life, y’know? You meet someone, strike up a conversation, and then--I dunno, make out, have sex, whatever. The whole--” He cuts off, maybe just to listen to, and laugh at, Taka’s flustered noises. “Damn, chill out, dude! Everyone does it.”

Taka frowns and pulls his arms in. All at once he feels quite uncomfortable, almost as though he has wandered into a vastly different landscape that he has no business being in. Which he has, he supposes. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Mondo lean forward, trying to see his face. “Except you, I guess. Uh--don’t be embarrassed, or anything. It’s not a big deal.”

Taka doesn’t know why he answers Mondo, especially considering how much he’d rather not address this subject. Still, he inexplicably replies, “Even if I could appreciate the effort, it wouldn’t matter. I don’t often develop--er, feelings, for someone. Like--like that.”

“Really,” says Mondo. His tone is low, somewhat surprised. Maybe even actually interested in what Taka has to say. “Well, fuck, why the hell not?”

Taka opens his mouth to speak, but he finds that he has no ready answer. “I don’t know,” he says quietly.

“Huh. Alright. Can’t imagine that, but, I guess it happens.”

“What did you mean, about your gang?”

“Huh?”

“That half of them were not interested in girls?”

Mondo blinks, clearly not having expected that question. Taka is briefly distracted by the way his lashes flutter; they’re so thick that beads of sweat and condensation sprinkle off of them. “Uh,” he says, shifting in his seat. It seems like he doesn’t want to answer, but at the last moment, he shrugs and mutters, “Ah, fuck it. I mean--I  _ think _ \--uh, well. So. A lot of ‘em were, you know--” he waves his hands vaguely to stall-- “a lot of ‘em were into dudes. So.”

“Oh,” says Taka. The blood roars in his ears. He wonders if the reason he’s getting lightheaded is the intense heat, or something more sinister. 

Mondo glances at him, and then suddenly, his aggression returns with a vengeance. He leans forward, thrusting his finger into Taka’s chest, and exclaims, “And you better not have a fuckin’ problem with that! Man, I swear, if you say any shit about any of my men I’ll fuck you up so bad you won’t be able to--”

“I don’t have a problem with that! Really, I don't!” Taka shouts back. He grabs Mondo’s hand and pushes it away from him--the contact is so hot, too hot, that Taka quickly recoils and shrinks into himself.

Mondo’s still staring him down, maybe gauging his reaction, weighing its validity. His dark eyes narrow as he grunts, “Fine. Fine. If you say so.”

“I have no issue with men who like men, or women who like women,” Taka says earnestly. “I never understood the prejudice against homosexuality. I think it’s an appalling thing for people to be discriminated against and persecuted for wanting to love the same sex.”

That makes Mondo smirk. “You think that, huh? Well, then. I guess you’re not as much of a stuck-up asshole as I thought you were.”

“You thought I was--” Taka fumbles over the words, and after deciding he can’t bring himself to repeat them, he says, “Why? Why would you think such a thing?”

“ _ Pfft, _ man, you kidding? Look at you!” Mondo waves at him dramatically. “Well, maybe not right now, but you dress to the fuckin’ nines! All sharp white lines, clean posture, goin’ around accusing me of being a pussy--c’mon, you gotta admit, that makes a rough guy like me a little sick. Of course I’d think you’d have a single-minded agenda in that pretty little head of yours.”

“I see,” says Taka, because he can’t decide which part of Mondo’s statement to address first. His cheeks might be burning at the last part of it, but then again, every part of him is burning. 

“But don’t worry. I’ont think that anymore. In fact--” Mondo’s grin becomes even bigger, and he slugs Taka’s arm. “Ow!” complains Taka as Mondo continues, “I think you’re worth actually talking to, you little shit.”

“Hmph. And I suppose you intend that as a compliment?”

“I do. What, doesn’t suit your nerdy goody-goody two shoes act?” Mondo props his chin on his hand as he pretends to study Taka’s face, nodding to himself. “What would you prefer, ya fuckin’ Majesty?”

Taka rolls his eyes and moves slightly away from Mondo. Not because he can’t stand being close to him, but...he can't stand being  _ that _ close to him. “No, that’s not it at all--I appreciate the sentiment. I don’t often receive compliments--I apologize if I came off as unappreciative!”

Mondo laughs and shakes his head. “I thought as much. Or, wait, no--I meant that about you maybe coming off as rude. Not that--not that you don’t receive compliments.” Now it’s Mondo’s turn to look embarrassed. “Shit. Fuck. You know what I’m trying to say, right?”

A chuckle rocks its way out of Taka’s chest before he can stop it. “I do,” he says with a small smile.

And they stay like that, eyes on each other, little grins mirroring the other’s, for an unusually long time. And Taka isn’t all that good at recognizing how long is  _ too  _ long, so he has no qualms about how he winds up exchanging his smile for a slightly more focused pout as he looks a little closer at Mondo’s face. Interesting, how the heat has transformed the light brown of the man’s skin into a rosy, almost golden color. It’s so fascinating--and perhaps attractive--that Taka almost comments on it. But before he can, Mondo’s skin suddenly becomes redder, and he sharply turns away to wipe his face with one of the towels.

“I dunno about you,” Mondo says, as if nothing was amiss, “but it’s getting a little cooler in here, ain’t it?”

“That’s absurd! It’s still--”

“Yeah, yeah, I was bein’ sarcastic, Spare me your explanation and just fuckin’ relax with me, won’t’cha?” Mondo drapes the soaked fabric over his shoulder and leans back with a loud sigh. He closes his eyes and folds his hands behind his head, saying, “I’m thinkin’ neither of us really cares about that fuckin’ competition anymore, huh?”

Taka thinks about this for a few seconds, and then nods with a sound of affirmation. “Right,” he says, and he stiffly sticks his hand out. “A fair game well played, Mondo Owada!”

Mondo opens one eye, which stares up at Taka’s expression before falling to look at his hand. His brows furrow, and then he sits up in realization. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. None of that, or I’m gonna get sick and take it all back.” He grabs Taka’s hand with an alarmingly tight grip, and instead of shaking it, he unexpectedly yanks Taka towards him.

Taka yelps in surprise as their chests collide, and the wind is all but knocked out of him when Mondo crushes him with his arms. The larger man slaps his back one, two, three times, saying, “This is how real men do it! Shaking hands are for wimps!”

Taka can’t even answer. He’s too busy gasping for breath, his mind pulled between the pain of being trapped in such an uncomfortable position, where the temperature got fifteen degrees hotter, and the ecstasy of being held against such perfect musculature. He manages to pat Mondo’s back a couple times before he is released to slump back into his initial seat.

Mondo smirks at him again, looking quite amused at the shell-shocked expression Taka can feel stretching across his features. “Man. You really don’t get out much, do you? I’ll bet my ass no one’s even hugged you like that, amirite?”

Taka clenches his teeth and ducks his face sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I--! No, I haven’t, I’m afraid--” He takes a shaky breath, and then confesses in a rush, “There are very few who are interested in entertaining someone as studious as me, and as such, I’m very unaccustomed to leisure time with--”

“Whoa! Take it easy! Damn!” Mondo holds his hands up. Laughing, always laughing. Yet, Taka realizes that there isn’t the slightest note of mockery in the man’s voice. And that speaks volumes to him. “Look, I get it! Well, not the studious part, but the whole I-don’t-have-friends thing. I get it, I wasn’t makin’ fun of ya.”

“Really?” Taka feels puzzled, and forgets his embarrassment in an instant. “I would have thought, with your biker gang and all…”

“Ah, they don’t count,” says Mondo, dismissing the thought with a wave. “Hell, they’re like my fuckin’ family. That’s all.”

“Wouldn’t you consider family, friends?”

“Not really,” Mondo admits. “Family is kinda, y’know,  _ supposed _ to like you. Or hang out with you. Nah, I mean people like  _ you _ , who actually--go out of their way, I guess. To hang out.”

Taka pauses, and then tentatively clarifies, “This is what we’re doing, then? Hanging out?”

“I mean--yeah? The fuck else would you call it?”

“I assumed we were together under the pretense of a competition.”

“Well, at first, but ain’t we over that? We agreed on that.”

“That’s true.”

“Okay, then, yes, Taka, this is hanging out. And-- _ hey _ .” Mondo nudges him, and when Taka looks over, something about the way Mondo’s smiling at him makes the thing in his chest do a quick flip. “It’s what bros do,” says Mondo. “ _ Kyoudai. _ ”

Taka beams at him. “Kyoudai.” He decides he can ignore the strange gymnastics his heart is doing in favor of the genuine joy he experiences in a refreshing wave.  _ Bros. Kyoudai. _ To think that these would be the words that the roughest, rudest, crudest student would be using to address him.

Of course Taka has to go and ruin the bliss with his inexperience, though. “Now what?” he asks after a couple seconds.

“Huh?”

“Just--what else do you do when you--hang out with a friend?” 

“Oh, geez.” Mondo pulls a hand through his hair and then dramatically drags it down his face. “Right now? Just talk. Or we could actually, I dunno, leave this fuckin’ sauna? Take it to our dorms?”

Taka shrugs. “I’m actually coming to enjoy the heat.” He omits the part where he expresses how incapable he would be of handling Mondo in his bedroom.

“Then we’ll stay,” Mondo decides. “So what’s going on in that pretty hall monitor head?”

That’s the second time Mondo’s called him pretty in some way. Taka’s quick to file that information away to consider later. “I’m curious, Mondo.”

“Uh-huh. Lay it on me.”

“I fully assumed that you would have had a girlfriend before coming to this Academy.”

Mondo groans loudly. “Shit, man, you’re still caught up on the whole girlfriend thing? What’s up with that?”

Okay, now even Taka can tell that the blood in his cheeks is prompted by emotion rather than the coals heating the sauna. “I’m sorry,” he says again. “If that’s a poor subject for you, we--”

He’s instantly shut up when Mondo unexpectedly reaches out and slaps a hand over Taka’s mouth. “Bro, just shut up,” he says, but there’s a smile behind the words. “You don’t gotta keep sayin’ sorry all the time. I’m just a natural-born asshole, alright? Nothin’ against you, so don’t think I’m lookin’ for you to save face or whatever. We clear on that?”

He lets go of Taka’s face to let him reply. Taka almost misses the contact. He clears his throat and gives a quick nod. “We’re clear!”

“Alright.” Mondo hesitates, and then adds, “I just didn’t expect you to be so--uh--you know,  _ inquisitive. _ ” He looks rather proud of himself for the word he just used. “You surprised me. And that’s a good thing.”

“I don’t think anyone’s ever described me like that.”

“Well, hey! I’m fuckin’ glad to be the first. But, seriously, are you  _ that _ interested in girls that you wanna hear all about mine?”

Taka’s eyes widen as Mondo offers him a sly grin. “No!” he exclaims. “No, that isn’t it, really--”

“Good.”

“--I’m not interested at all, in those girls. I just have no idea what it’s like. To cour--to date someone.” He gives Mondo a bashful look. “I assumed you’d be the most experienced.”

Mondo blushes deeply. “Are you shitting me?” he sputters, folding his arms. “I mean, thanks and all, but--for fuck’s sake, why? Especially when there’s a gorgeous asshole like Byakuya right there?”

Taka considers this. He had never even thought twice about the stuffy progeny. The only other men he might’ve singled out as  _ experienced _ would have been Leon (rest his soul) and-- “You believe Byakuya is gorgeous?”

There’s a beat of terse silence. Taka bites his lip, abruptly aware that he probably shouldn’t have called Mondo out on that, judging by how deeper the red on his face becomes. “Did I say that?” he mumbles. “I definitely didn’t say that. He’s a jackass. And I hate his stupid rich guts!”

_ You’re lying, _ Taka almost blurts. He holds himself back, though, because he’s afraid Mondo might ask him why he pointed it out and he doesn’t think he can fully explain why. Why it  _ bothers _ him. And anyway, Mondo is rushing on, giving Taka no time to backtrack. “But tell me. I’m interested. Why me, huh?”

“Why you?” Taka echoes dumbly. He watches Mondo stretch out next to him. He looks satisfied with himself, and expectant. 

“You heard me. Inflate my ego, smart guy. Why’d the Ultimate Hall Monitor see the King of the Crazy Diamonds as a chick magnet?”

Taka helplessly gestures at him. He really has dug himself into a hole this time. Actually, he does that a lot, but Mondo Owada is apparently the only one bold enough to make him suffer for it. “You get around a lot, don’t you?” he says hesitantly. “I’m sure you’ve met the most, ah...date-worthy candidates out of all of us.”

“So fuckin’ what? Don’t mean anything.”

“Of course it does! It means you would have the highest number of chances to…” Taka falters. 

“Hook up?” Mondo suggests.

“Yes,” Taka says sheepishly. “And! Therefore, you would have the best knowledge of how to behave in such a relationship.”

“ _ Tch, _ yeah, if I had actually gone for them.”

Taka blinks and frowns. “You mean, you haven’t?”

Mondo pulls at his tank, wringing out a little moisture. “Yeah. I thought we went over this,” he says pointedly. “Is that the only reason, though? For askin’?”

Taka catches his breath and focuses on his hands again. No, it isn’t the only reason. The other reason is that at least to him, Mondo is by far the most attractive male among all of the students. Even when Leon was still alive, he didn’t hold the smallest candle to the way Taka immediately saw Mondo. He’d never articulate this, of course, even if he knew how to. To think that someone could find out…

He shudders and tries to wipe the notion from his head. “It is,” he answers as convincingly as he can. 

Mondo squints at him. He probably doesn’t buy it. Taka doesn’t blame him. “Whatever,” he sighs. Does he sound disappointed? “Tell me about yourself, then, since I’ve already shared so much of my shit.”

“I don’t think there’s very much to say,” admits Taka. “I’ve been told I’m an open book.”

“If that were even  _ remotely  _ true, I’d have already beat you to cruds, dude. But for some stupid fuckin’ reason, I actually like you, which means there’s something more to you than being this…” Mondo motions to Taka’s whole body from his feet to his head. “Snooty principal’s bitch.”

Taka is so offended by the idea of being a  _ snooty principal’s bitch _ that he scoffs and replies, “Fine! I suppose there is. I--well, my best friend was my dog named Tiger. Is that--embarrassing?” 

Mondo laughs at how worried Taka must look right now. “Hell no! I think that’s fuckin’ awesome! I had one, too--a maltese named Chuck. Man, I loved him.”

“A  _ maltese _ ?” Taka is stunned. He would’ve expected a Rottweiler, or a german shepherd. 

Mondo easily reads his thoughts. “Yeah. I know. Weird, right? For a guy like me.” His face darkens. “He died a long time ago, though, so. Y’know.”

“Oh, Mondo, I’m sorry,” says Taka, genuinely saddened by the idea. He has an urge to scoot closer and put a hand on his friend’s leg. He honors this urge in a stroke of bravery--or maybe it’s foolishness.

It seems to be the right thing to do, though, because even though Mondo looks startled and stares pretty hard at Taka’s hand on his thigh, his face brightens back up. “Aw, hey,” he chuckles, “I mean, it was a while ago. It still fuckin’ sucks, but hey! Part of life, y’know?”

“Yes, but--”

“So what else?” Mondo interrupts him. “You got a dog, don’t got many friends. Was it just ‘cause you didn’t want any, or no one met your standards? And, hell, nothin’ wrong with that, by the way.”

_ Neither. _ “I don’t think I’m considered very attractive.”

An incredulous laugh shakes Mondo’s body. Taka notes that his hand is still on the man’s leg; he snatches it back, horrified, but Mondo reaches out and grabs him just as quickly. “What are you--”

“You shittin’ me?” the biker snorts. “Look at you, dude.”

Taka stiffens when Mondo pulls his arm out and traces the veins and muscles from his wrist to his shoulder with his other hand. A chill shudders down his spine, and he has to bite down on his lip to keep from making a sound. Mondo doesn’t seem to notice, and he says, “You’re fuckin’ ripped! And, I meant to say it before, but I didn’t even  _ think _ you’d be this shredded. Like I said, you surprised me! I’d say that’s pretty damn attractive.”

Taka’s tongue feels like lead. Somewhere into Mondo’s second sentence, he had lost the ability to properly acknowledge what the man was saying to him. Every consecutive compliment was a blow to his gut, and by the end of it, he felt unusually weak. “Thank you,” he manages to squeak out.

Mondo hasn’t let go of him, either. He’s still studying Taka’s forearm, flipping it so that his palm is facing the ceiling. He traces a vein in Taka’s wrist with a finger; Taka stifles a soft whimper as Mondo touches him. “I mean, God,” Mondo says with a small chuckle. It sounds like he’s speaking more to himself than anything. “What kinda fuckin’ studying have you been doin' look like this? Jesus!”

“I do visit the gym regularly,” Taka chokes out, latching onto the idea of  _ studying _ to pull his mind away from the intimacy of what is going on right now. 

“You do!”

“Yes. I’ve read many self-care books, including those about preserving physical fitness, and I believe it’s critical to maintain a strong body!”

“Well, job well fuckin’ done,” Mondo says approvingly, and he finally drops Taka’s arm. “You sure as hell got my stamp of approval. Shit, are you overheating or something? You look like you can’t breathe. Maybe we should get outta here. How long’s it been?...”

Too late, Taka realizes how stiff he had become. He inhales sharply and tries to assume a casual composure. “I’m fine, thank you!” he says too loudly.

Mondo’s thick eyebrows lift into his hairline. “If you say so.”

“Mhm!” Taka forces a smile, if only to prove that he’s alright. “I suppose--I’m  _ flattered _ by what you’re saying about me. And I’m...not used to it.” He catches himself right before he throws in an  _ I’m sorry _ because he knows Mondo would only chastise him for it.

“Jesus. You were really cheated during your childhood, then, weren’t’cha? Especially ‘cause you totally deserve everything I’m tellin’ you.” Mondo almost looks upset for him. “You’re smart, you’re ambitious, you actually know what the hell you’re doin’--and on top ‘a that, you look good. What’s not to compliment?”

Taka huddles into himself. Everything is hot and fuzzy and confusing, and he can’t handle this complete one-eighty Mondo has pulled on him. He didn’t expect to be overwhelmed like this when they decided to duel it out, and he’d almost prefer the competition. “Thank you,” he mutters.

“Hey, no problem.”

“I think--yes, I think you’re right. Many of the kids my age, they were very different from me. None of them could understand the way I thought, or acted,” Taka says cautiously. He glances at his friend, and instantly looks away when he notes how attentively Mondo is listening. “Ah...they weren’t very interested in befriending someone as unusual in me. And that’s how I grew up! I never saw anything strange or negative about it, because I didn’t know anything different.” 

He doesn’t mention how many times he had been beaten up, or at the very least verbally bullied, for the way he spoke and acted as a kid. He figures Mondo doesn’t need to hear about that right now. The guy looks fired up enough as it is, anyway. He actually cracks his knuckles and scowls like he’s personally offended. “Fuckin’ idiots,” he grumbles. “I would’ve fucked ‘em up bad if I knew them back then. They didn’t know what they’re missin’ out on. You didn’t deserve that shit, none of it.”

Taka laughs breathlessly. “Well--thank you, Mondo, that...means very much to me. It’s in the past, now, so I try not to think about it!” 

That’s a lie. He thinks about it all the time. All the names, those three-letter names. The things that kept him up at night, hating that he ever let people get under his skin. He has a feeling that Mondo understands more than he’s letting on; if his suspicions are true, then he’d become even more impressed with the friendship quickly forming between them. Strange, how drastically different two men who suffered through familiar obstacles could turn out to be.

Mondo somewhat affirms this very idea without even realizing it. “I get it. Probably smart. Me, though?” He pounds his fist against his palm again. “I deal with those fuckers by bashing their brains in.”

“You should be more careful, Mondo,” Taka warns him with a side eye. “I would...hate for you to get arrested for assault.”

“Already been there! Juvie, four different occasions.” Mondo barks a laugh. “They can’t touch me anymore. I’ll just break out. Besides, y’know...not like I gotta worry about that anytime soon, huh? Seein’ as we’re stuck here for--er, I guess...the rest of our lives.”

That dampens the mood by a great deal. Neither speak for a bit, until Taka feels bad enough that he reaches out and experimentally squeezes Mondo’s bicep with one hand. Mondo looks up at him, startled, as Taka grins, “Cheer up! We have each other, now, don’t we? So how bad can it be?”

“Besides the fact that we gotta kill each other at some point?”

Taka’s mouth dries right the fuck up. Mondo notices, and he’s quick to clap a reassuring hand on Taka’s shoulder. “Nevermind,” he says hurriedly. “Yeah, yeah, you’ve got me. Yeah. Huh. I did  _ not _ peg you as the guy that I’d like the most here, you know that, Taka?”

Taka can feel the smile on his face all the way in his ears. “The same goes to you, Mondo.”

“Uh-huh.” Mondo’s face falls, but it rearranges itself into a decidedly more thoughtful expression while he gazes at Taka through the steam. Taka shifts uneasily, and it’s hard not to look at the hand massaging his shoulder. “Hey, y’know, I wanna know somethin’,” says Mondo after a moment.

“What is it?” Even as he says it, Taka dreads the response. 

“Just--somethin’ you said earlier. And you don’t have to answer this, I guess, but, back when you were slamming me with shit about havin’ a girlfriend.” 

“Yes.” Taka’s heart is in his throat.

“You said something about...not being interested.” Mondo tilts his head slightly. Something glitters deep within his violet irises. “What’d you mean by that, exactly?”

Taka stares blankly ahead. Of course. Of course he’d ask that. “Ah, yes...yes. Of course!” And then he closes his mouth, because that is not even remotely an answer. “Yes,” he repeats dumbly. For the first time in a while, he has half a mind to swear loudly.

Mondo leans back, clearly picking up on Taka’s hesitance. “Y’know what? Forget about it. It’s not important. Shit, I probably shouldn’t’a asked in the first place.”

“It’s okay,” Taka says, distractedly rubbing his arm. “I simply meant what I said. That I’m not interested.”

It isn’t a total lie. In fact, it’s the simplest version of the truth, and Mondo seems to catch that. Taka just hopes that the man can hear the rest of it, the implications of it.  _ I’m interested in the other type. _ It isn’t that he fears Mondo would scorn him, not after what the biker admitted about his gang. He simply can’t bring himself to verbalize the truth.

If Mondo picks up on this, he gives no indication. “Yeah, yeah. That’s fair.” He gives Taka his space, now, but even though he’s letting the prefect save face, the small looks Mondo keeps tossing over at him indicates his muted interest. To his benefit, he says nothing more.

Eventually, it becomes hard to pretend that he isn’t catching those looks, and Taka abruptly stands up. “I think it would be wise if we retired for the night,” he says hoarsely. Without waiting for Mondo’s response, he moves over to the bucket of water for the coals; he instinctively tightens the towel around his waist as he does. He stoops to check it: it’s empty. The water they hadn’t used had simply evaporated in the heat.

“Yeah, I bet you’re right. We've been in here  _ way  _ too damn long,” Mondo agrees from behind him. Taka hears the man shift and stand without a yawn, followed by sounds of satisfaction as he stretches. “ _ Ah-h-h _ \--fuck, dude, that  _ really _ hit the spot. We gotta do this more often. Maybe not for so long, though.”

He continues to stretch and sigh while Taka gathers the bucket and opens the door. The rush of fresh air from the baths outside is refreshing and cold against their perspiring skin, and Taka shivers violently. He gathers Mondo’s coat from the floor and turns to offer it to him. “Here you--” 

He cuts off in a yelp when he finds that Mondo is standing right behind him. It’s already cool enough that Taka can feel the heat radiating from the bigger man’s skin. Mondo frowns. “You alright? Are you cold?”

“No! I’m sorry. Here's your coat!” Taka practically thrusts the jacket into Mondo’s chest before politely shuffling away from him. The anxiety to reserve himself from the brunt of Mondo’s perception is becoming too much to stand.

Mondo fumbles with the coat before wringing out and beating it a few times to straighten the worst of the wrinkles. He glances at Taka and says, “Probably should let this dry overnight, huh?”

“That would be smart.”

“Damn right. Hey, freshen up with me for a bit. We got time, right?”

Taka uncertainly looks over at the clock near the bathroom door. It’s just after 10:20, and well into the designated nighttime period. He knows Monokuma wouldn’t punish them for staying outside of their rooms as long as they don’t fall asleep; the other students, however, might get a little irritated. “The e-Handbook says that the water shuts off after ten, isn’t that right?”

“So?” says Mondo dismissively. “There’s still water right here. I’m just tryna cool off before I hit the sack, but, if you don’t wanna stick around, it’s no big D.”

He says that, and yet Taka swears he can hear a note of disappointment in his voice. Or he’s just imagining it. Either way, it prompts Taka to reconsider, and he eventually decides, “I--I’ll stay.”

Mondo turns from where he was draping his coat over a bench. “Really?” he grins.

Taka nods once. He has to be careful, though: there’s no longer an excuse for red skin, or a sweaty face. But he’s never spent this much time alone with someone before, and he’d be damned if he cuts it off short. 

“Hell yeah, dude!” Mondo’s renewed excitement translates directly into how fast he grabs the hem of his tank and practically peels the fabric off of his skin and over his head. And, just like when he took off his jacket in the sauna, the ripple of his muscles as they flex with the movement pulls at Taka’s eyes like nothing else could. He’s still shiny with sweat and water, and as intimidating as Mondo is, the blood blossoming in Taka’s face and ears and neck is almost as intoxicating as the view. He doesn’t take off his pants, though, and thank God for that.

Taka’s yanked out of the daze when Mondo speaks again. “Gimme your towel, man,” he says to him, offering a hand. “I’ll put it over here.”

Taka hesitates. The blush deepens. “Ah--”

“I know you’ve got shorts under there. Chill out. Unless--” Mondo puts his hands on his hips and smirks.  _ He looks so--good-- _ “Did you take your fuckin’ shorts off, Taka?  _ Pfft-- _ ”

“No!” Taka shouts. He messes with the towel, torn between taking it off and keeping it on even though he knows he can’t. Unless he insists on only putting his feet in the water. “My shorts are still on, of course! I just--it’s very…”

Mondo rolls his eyes and walks over to him. He isn’t that much taller than Taka, but the degree to which Taka has to lift his head to look at him seems a lot more severe than it should be. “You don’t gotta be scared of me, bro,” Mondo says gently. “Y’know I won’t judge, right? We’re cool now. Not that there’s much about you to be ashamed of. I mean--well, you know what I’ve already said, right? Fuckin’ nice legs and all.”

This time, a high-pitched sound actually weasels its way free from between Taka’s lips. Mondo’s brow creases upon hearing it, and before he can comment, Taka stammers, “Yes! Right! I know, so--” 

He unceremoniously yanks the towel away from his waist and gives it to Mondo as roughly as he had handed the coat to him. “Here. Thank you, kyoudai.”

Mondo’s quicker at handling the fabric, now, though he looks just as puzzled as before. Except it’s not really a  _ puzzled _ expression, it’s becoming more...aware. “Are you always this damn jumpy at night?” Mondo asks, turning away to move back over to the bench.

Taka stops mentally creating patterns out of the grooves and dunes painting Mondo’s back. “I’m not jumpy,” he protests. It’s almost a pout.

“Bullshit. I bet you are. It’s kinda cute, though, so whatever.” Mondo neatly folds the towel next to his jacket, and then motions Taka over with his head as he makes his way towards the pool. Taka gives himself exactly two seconds to shake off the sensation of being called  _ cute _ before he scurries over to the side of the water.

He remains on the edge even while Mondo loudly splashes in, pants still on, wading farther in until he’s waist-deep. Then he turns and meets Taka’s eyes with a playfully annoyed look. “Get in here! You afraid of water or somethin’?” He swings his arms through the water, soaking Taka with a wave.

Taka yelps and waves his hands. “How dare you suggest that!” 

“Then come prove me wrong, smartass.”

As Taka reluctantly dips his toe in and, upon noting that the water is a comfortable temperature, lowers himself in legs-first, the smallest thought nags at the back of his mind. It could easily be that he is completely unused to such a prolonged conversation with someone who used to be a stranger, and thus, he has no clue what to expect. But there’s just something about the way Mondo’s been speaking to him, and how they’ve been looking at each other, that doesn’t feel quite...typical. 

_ Is this flirting? _

Immediately Taka shakes the idea away. How could he possibly have the audacity to entertain the very thought? No, Mondo just happened to be a very strange character, one who expressed his affection in unusual ways to the few who managed to sneak through his tough exterior. How could he think about flirting when they’ve only just become friends?

Ah, but now  _ there’s _ a thought that makes Taka’s chest warm. Somehow, Mondo liked his completely different personality enough to let him in. It’s a welcome change of pace.

Taka hisses a little as he gets deep enough for the fabric of his shorts to quickly saturate with the cool water. His body temperature is still very high, making the pool seem cooler than it really is. “It’s cold,” he says softly, looking at his friend.

Mondo sinks until only his head is above water. He glides through the water towards Taka, always smiling. “You just gotta get used to it. I feel better already!” He splashes Taka again, and this time Taka laughs and splashes him back.  _ Yes, this feels nice. _

“Aren’t you tired?” Taka asks, clinging to the wall. “After all, it is almost eleven.”

“Not really. And it’s not even ten fuckin’ thirty. What’re you talkin’ about?” Mondo flashes him a smile. “Did your mommy make you sleep by eight every night? Poor baby.”

Taka scoffs and douses Mondo with a smack across the pool’s surface. The bigger man seems delighted at this. “That’s ridiculous,” Taka huffs. “I just think it’s always important to get a full night’s worth of rest each day!”

Mondo raises his arms out of the water and stretches out across the side of the pool. Taka silently notes how close the biker’s hand is to his shoulder against the wall. “I guess. Well, I’ve been in bed around eleven every night already, and I feel amazing.”

“Have you been getting eight hours of sleep?”

“Yup. Besides.” Taka flinches when Mondo pokes his neck. “I’m hangin’ out with you, and that’s more fun than sleepin’ and shit.”

“You really think that?”

“Of course I do.” Mondo turns so that his full body is facing Taka. He lifts his far arm and flicks water at Taka’s face. “Bein’ around friends is always more fun,” he says firmly. “Why d’you sound so surprised?”

Taka takes a moment to try and wipe his face off; of course, since his hands are wet, it doesn’t really work. He abandons the endeavor with a grunt and sinks a little lower into the water, as though he could hide himself from Mondo’s intense stare. “Don’t you remember? I don’t--”

“Have many friends, right,” Mondo finishes for him. He sighs. “Yeah, yeah, I remember.  _ Man, _ that blows. And it pisses me off.”

A jolt shakes through Taka, and he catches his breath. “Why?” he frets.  _ Did I say something wrong? _

“I told you already. I don’t get it, why some bitches think they’re too cool for you. Like, yeah, maybe you are kinda loud and stiff, but that didn’t turn me off! Hell, you got to me since day one. Otherwise I wouldn’t’a been so serious about challenging you. If you really were that boring, I would’a just ignored you.”

“Really,” Taka says slowly. “You...have an odd way of showing that you...care.”

Mondo winks at him and just about sends Taka into a full-blown panic. “I’ve been told that before. So it must be true.”

Taka nods at him, and it seems like the conversation dies comfortably on its own. Even so, as Mondo pushes off the wall and half-swims-half-wades across the length of the pool, Taka feels a pull at his throat. Like he’s being compelled to say something, just to hear Mondo’s voice again. He wracks his mind for something, anything to say, and he comes up empty until: “Did you swim a lot when you were younger?”

Mondo’s head was underwater when Taka said that, but he must’ve heard him. He pops up, saying, “Sorry, what?”

“Did you…” Taka’s voice trails off as he becomes completely distracted with Mondo’s hair. Weighed down with water and with the gel all washed off, his bleached pompadour now hangs long over his face. And still, even loose, there is volume that frames Mondo’s jaw. It’s...beautiful.

Taka watches, transfixed, as Mondo absently flips the wet hair away from his face and over his crown. And then he notices Taka staring. “What?” Mondo says defensively. “What’re you lookin’ at?”

“Your hair,” Taka explains at the same time Mondo says, “My hair?” Taka pauses, and then continues, “Y-yes. I’m sorry, did I offend you? I wasn’t staring because I thought it looked strange, promise! It’s just...it’s so different.  _ You’re _ so different.”

Mondo chuckles, though he still sounds self-conscious. “ _ Hah, _ yeah, I shouldn’t have been so defensive. I guess I must look pretty fuckin’ weird to you right now. You like it?” He tucks a strand of light brown hair around his ear and poses dramatically.

Taka hides a laugh behind his hand and smiles. “I do.” He winces; his voice had cracked. “I do,” he says again, clearly this time.

“Sweet. Now, what were you asking?”

“Did you used to swim a lot as a child?” Taka’s heart really isn’t in his question anymore, though. He has to hold his hands still to keep from reaching out and touching Mondo’s hair, especially as the man swims closer to him.

Mondo’s face tightens as he thinks about this. “Yeah, kinda. There was a lake near my old place. Daiya used to take me out there all the time.”

“Who’s Daiya?”

“Who’s--” Mondo stops as he realizes. “Oh. Yeah. Yeah, Daiya was my big bro,” he explains. He sounds...sad.  
“I see.” Taka wants to press for more, but even he’s sharp enough to tell that Mondo clearly doesn’t want to talk about his brother. “So, you used to swim in the lake?”

Mondo looks grateful at Taka’s understanding. “Yeah,” he says, “especially in the summer. It got  _ hella _ fuckin’ warm where I lived.” He lowers his voice, as though he was bringing Taka into a secret; Taka leans forward automatically. “Sometimes, we’d even go skinny dipping,” Mondo whispers gleefully.

Taka reels back from him, sputtering as Mondo cackles. “Skinny dipping?” he repeats. Why does he feel so embarrassed at the idea of it?

“HA! Yeah, man, it was such a thrill!” Mondo closes his eyes as though he was savoring a memory. “Man! You should’ve seen the look on your face when I said that. You got some crazy sense of decency, don’t you, Taka? Bet you’ve never seen a naked man besides yourself in your whole life.”

Taka feels dizzy, and it gets worse when, for just a split second, he pictures Mondo naked. It’s enough to make him moan and cover his face tightly. “Of course I haven’t! That-- _ that _ \--!”

“Fuck! I  _ love _ messin’ with you!”

Now it gets even worse: Taka doesn’t even have time to brace himself before Mondo grabs his wrists and starts pulling at him, trying to get him to uncover his face. Taka cries out and holds on tighter. “Mondo,  _ please! _ ” he groans, but he can hardly hear himself over how much Mondo is laughing. It seems like this man laughs at everything, at least when it comes to Taka.

“I wanna see how red you are!” Mondo complains. His thumbs push into Taka’s wrist and slide up the side of his hands, and for some reason, that contact makes Taka’s breath hitch. He’s caught off guard enough for Mondo to pull his hands away from his face, leaving his blush in full view. He closes his eyes the instant he’s exposed, unable to bear Mondo’s proximity. “ _ Aw, _ you’re shy, aren’t you?”

“C’mon, kyoudai, that’s enough,” Taka whispers. He doesn’t open his eyes, not even when Mondo keeps holding onto his wrists underwater. He can tell that Mondo’s face is close to his, and it feels like he’s only being tugged closer.

Mondo makes a quiet sound. “You serious? Fine, fine. I’ll stop, just open your eyes.”

Taka swallows. But the air gets a little cooler, and he figures that Mondo must be at least giving him room to breathe. So he opens his eyes, and he’s greeted with Mondo’s relieved expression. “Great,” Mondo says happily. “Honestly, was kinda scared I might’ve  _ actually  _ freaked you out there.”

Taka summons some confidence into his limbs. “Freaked me out? Not at all--nothing can scare the Ultimate Hall Monitor!”

“Didn’t think so. Here.” And with that, Mondo does something completely unexpected--he lifts Taka’s hands out of the water and guides them to his hair. Taka is stunned, and even after Mondo lets go of him, he doesn’t move away. It feels like his hands are stuck to Mondo’s scalp.

Across the short distance between their faces, Mondo grins. “Don’t think I didn’t see the way you were glaring at my hair back there,” he teases. “I know you wanna play with it. In fact, I bet my ass that’s how you felt when you first saw me even when it was up, huh?”

“You could tell?” Taka breathes. He feels mortified, because Mondo was exactly right. 

“Yup. Go ahead; it feels nice. But don’t you be tellin’ anyone that--if people find out the King of the Crazy Diamonds likes it when people play with his hair, I’d be a laughingstock, you know? Might have’ta kick your ass if you did that.”

“Of course,” agrees Taka. He’s nervous at first, what with Mondo’s eyes fixed so intently on him, watching his every move. And they’re so close, too; he itches to edge forward, just slightly. He gulps again and busies himself by tugging his hands through Mondo’s hair, and the second he does, he forgets his misgivings as easily as he experienced them.

It actually brings a smile to his face. Mondo’s hair, while stringy and wet, somehow still feels soft. Stimulating. Taka forgets that Mondo is staring at him; he forgets to pay attention to how the muscles in Mondo’s neck and collar shift as he tilts his head into Taka’s hands; he forgets that this is absolutely, positively, the most inappropriate behavior he could possibly engage in with another male. Well, maybe not the  _ most _ inappropriate, but it’s definitely more than Taka would have ever been comfortable enough to engage in with  _ anyone _ , man or woman. 

And yet. Here he is anyway, massaging his hands through Mondo’s long, long hair as though he were a masseuse. Or some enchanted school girl. And it’s fun, and he can tell Mondo’s enjoying it as much as he is. The biker actually starts to  _ preen, _ closing his eyes and pushing into Taka’s hand like a cat. Taka pauses, long enough to look at Mondo’s slightly parted lips, before he continues so he doesn’t do something he’ll regret.

But Mondo makes it hard on him. “Ain’t this feel nice?” he says, voice barely a breath.

“Mhm…”

“Kinda makin’ me sleepy, man.”

“Should we go back to our rooms for the night?” Taka starts to pull away, but Mondo’s hands immediately splash out of the water to stop him.

“No  _ way _ ,” Mondo replies. His fingers slide between Taka’s, and the prefect’s heart stutters to a near stop. One of his eyes opens and holds Taka’s gaze. “This shit is way nicer. Been a long time since someone touched me like this.”

Taka breathes in shakily. He’s unused to the way his knees are beginning to feel wobbly, even in the water. He’s never had to deal with how he’s beginning to tremble--it’s not enough for Mondo to notice, thank God, but enough for Taka to grimace at. “Well, then, I suppose we’ll stay. But we should return before--before someone finds us.”

“Why?” Both eyes are open now. He squeezes Taka’s hands. “You embarrassed or somethin’? Because I sure as hell ain’t.”

“No, I…” Taka grinds his teeth together and looks away. He finds the clock and pretends like he’s checking the time. “I’m afraid Monokuma will punish us,” he says.

Mondo snorts, “For what? We’re just two bros chilling in the bathhouse. Little late night swim. What’s so wrong with that?”

Taka blanches at the word  _ bros. _ He isn’t sure why, at first, because isn’t that the whole reason they’re here? But as he thinks about it, it doesn’t seem to fit. Not with the way Taka’s kneading Mondo’s hair, not with the way Mondo’s still holding onto him. “Well...nothing.”

“Exactly. So relax. We’ll go back when you want, alright?”

“But what if--what if Makoto comes in? Or Byakuya, or Yasuhiro, or…”

“Are you  _ whining _ right now?”

“You’re not listening to me!”

“Yes, I am, because I’m tryna understand your fuckin’ logic. What’s the problem?  _ Is _ there a problem?”

Here’s where Taka has to really think. It almost sounds like Mondo is... _ daring _ him. Yes, that’s it, that must be why Mondo’s eyes are narrowing and he’s grinning and he’s moving in. He must want Taka to admit something, but--but-- _ what? _ What could he--

“No answer?” says Mondo in the middle of Taka’s frantic thoughts. “Don’t tell me the Ultimate Principal’s Bitch forgot his own rulebook.”

“Ultimate  _ Hall Monitor, _ ” Taka automatically corrects him. He quickly falls silent again, though. Because Mondo’s much too close.  _ His eyelashes are so...thick. _

“Yeah, yeah.” Mondo lets go of one of Taka’s hands. And then...and  _ then. _ Taka stiffens, straightens up, as Mondo’s fingers skim down his arm, all the way down to his shoulder. From there, Mondo keeps a light touch right against Taka’s jaw. “Same difference.”

“Mondo,” Taka says carefully.

“What’s up?”

“What--” Taka shudders involuntarily when Mondo’s thumb rubs against his chin. He removes his free hand from Mondo’s head and crosses his own chest with it, grabbing onto his other shoulder. Trying to hide. “What are you doing?” he demands quietly. “If I’m correct, aren’t you--are you--”

Mondo looks awfully calm about all this. As though there was nothing strange about it at all. He purses his lips before saying, “You’re not used to this shit, either? I’m just showin’ you what friends do with each other, since you apparently missed out on everything.”

“I’m not that stupid,” Taka says, almost snapping at him. “I know that--this is  _ intimate, _ Mondo, you can’t--friends don’t--”

“You want me to stop, or somethin’?”

Taka opens his mouth, and then closes it. He looks away, ashamed; he doesn’t want to see the knowing smile that he knows is splitting across Mondo’s face. He may not say  _ no, _ but his eyes do, when he glances back for a split second. Mondo’s somehow even closer than before; Taka has no idea how they aren’t touching yet. He can feel the man’s breath, warm on his neck, and he shivers again.  _ This is inappropriate, this is bad, this is immoral _ \--

The fingers close around Taka’s face, and Taka’s mind goes blank. He feels like he should be protesting, but he can’t. He can’t do anything but sit there, watching helplessly as the purple of Mondo’s eyes get brighter and brighter. His fist tightens in Mondo’s hair, as if to anchor himself. Brace himself.

“I’ll ask you one last time, Kiyotaka,” Mondo murmurs. His lashes brush against his cheek, making it look as though they were closed, but Taka knows that he’s looking down. At his lips. “What did you mean about not being interested in girls?”

“I think,” whispers Taka, “that you knew what I meant.”

“Yeah. I was just makin’ sure.”

It’s hardly a warning. And it’s not useful at all, either, because with how slow and gradual everything had been up to this point, Taka is fully unprepared by how  _ fast _ Mondo moves. It’s like he had forgotten that he was dealing with the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader here. Because between heartbeats, Mondo closes the distance between them; between heartbeats, his lips find Taka’s. 

The wind whistles through Taka’s nose as he sharply inhales. His eyes close on their own, but everything else is paralyzed--he can’t do anything, not about how tightly Mondo grips his neck, not about how the palm sandwiching his hand against Mondo’s head is beginning to pinch, not about how fiercely Mondo kisses him. He makes a small, muffled sound into Mondo’s mouth, and he digs his fingers into his own bicep, and that is all.

Mondo’s head tilts, and he pushes harder. He almost feels frustrated. Taka makes another sound, and as if he spurred himself into response, he finally parts his lips enough for Mondo to deepen the kiss. The man gives a guttural noise, expressing something akin to approval, and he breaks only to mumble into Taka’s mouth, “Good boy.”

Taka gasps again. Everything is heavy. Everything is red. He reaches out weakly, for Mondo’s shoulder instead of his, and the feel of Mondo’s hot skin fills him with gratification. He uses it to draw himself closer--how strange, that Taka knows full well he should not be participating in this, yet he can’t currently do anything  _ but. _ This isn’t his first kiss, but the ones before were few and far between, and nothing as prolonged as this. He has never been brought in so close to the other’s body, or held so possessively by the hand and neck. He has never felt someone’s tongue poking into his mouth, or lashes tickling his cheek, or teeth bumping together as both of them bear closer. 

No, he has never felt anything like this at all.

And, he realizes, he doesn’t want it to end. He suddenly can’t stand the thought of being without Mondo’s warm aggression, the hands keeping him close. He doesn’t need Mondo to hold him in order for him to clutch at the man’s hair--though, of course, he adores the contact. He’s initially shy because he has close to no experience with this, and he’s afraid he might do it wrong, but Mondo seems content to lead. The way that he’s sucking Taka’s bottom lip into his mouth and nibbling at him and drawing the most absurd sounds out of Taka’s throat requires nothing but an appreciative groan. Which is something Taka is more than capable of giving.

It’s the sounds of them splashing through their water in their hurry that brings reality crashing back down around him. Taka leans back with another short breath, and Mondo is there, following him with a gaze that quickly becomes concerned. “Taka--”

“Mondo,” gasps Taka, scrambling at Mondo’s chest. The water makes it hard to keep himself steady. He can feel his heartbeat in every part of his body. “Mondo,” he says again, “I--we can’t--”

“God, why are you always so fuckin’  _ proper? _ ” Mondo leans in and places a small kiss at the corner of Taka’s mouth. His tongue flicks out, slipping between Taka’s lips; the prefect whimpers when Mondo’s thumb digs into the skin beside his Adam’s Apple. “ _ Fuck, _ you taste so good.”

The husk of Mondo’s voice, combined with the way his eyes devour Taka’s being, is enough to bring heat slicing into his groin. And that is horrifying. That goes against everything Taka is recognized for--how could he ignore the morals he so deeply believes in? 

But how could he possibly say no?

Mondo seems to see this conflict in Taka’s face. He frowns, and just like that, his hands disappear. They fall into the pool with a  _ splash, _ and Mondo curses. “Okay. Shit. I--I went too far, didn’t I?”

The sight of Mondo dejectedly moving away from Taka sends him into a panic. He reaches out, exclaiming, “No!” and grabs onto Mondo’s shoulders. The biker’s eyes widen as Taka drags him back with a focused expression, anxious to keep Mondo close. “No,” he repeats.

“No? You mean you liked it?”

“Yes, I liked it,” Taka insists, even before the words are fully out of Mondo’s mouth. “I liked it so much. I like it, I like you, I like--” He shakes his head when the rest of the words don’t come. “I liked it,” he says one last time, praying that Mondo understands.

And Mondo does. He always does. “Fuck. I did too.”

Taka doesn’t even have to think about his next words. “Kiss me again,” he begs. “Please--”

Mondo’s crushing mouth catches the rest of his words. Taka’s eyes flutter shut. He leans into the kiss eagerly this time, and he folds his arms around Mondo’s neck. His face is squeezed between both of Mondo's hands, and a twisted thrill races through his body as he allows the biker to move his head as he pleases. Between the pleasure and pain of Mondo pulling Taka’s lip between his teeth, somewhere Taka can feel the man using his weight to turn Taka's body. There's a moment of weightlessness as Mondo uses his elbows to push him into a seated position with his back flush against the pool side wall; he feels Mondo give a small hop, and he trembles when Mondo's strong thighs come down around either side of his body. He is straddled at the hip, with Mondo kneeling on the shallow step jutting out from the wall, barring Taka from all sides.

He feels small. Painfully small. And Mondo knows it. The kiss breaks, and Taka stares straight up at him. He's forced to lean back, almost diagonally. He makes a small sound when Mondo grins and brushes a hand through his wet hair, tilting Taka’s face up in the process. “You're so fucking cute,” he says softly. “Someone should've told you sooner.”

“You're so handsome,” Taka chokes out.

“You think so?” Mondo's hand becomes a fist, and he pulls Taka’s head to the side. Taka whimpers as his neck is bared; it becomes a sharp cry when Mondo's teeth find a small spot to latch onto. He holds on tighter, and when Mondo bites harder, his hips buck up all on their own. Both of them groan when Taka does that--Mondo out of surprise, and Taka out of pleasure. “Huh,” Mondo says, “now where the fuck did that come from?”

Taka’s teeth grind together. “Just--shut up, Mondo--”

“Nah.” Mondo kisses him, wet and open-mouthed and sloppy, and Taka leans up to meet it. He can hear the sounds they’re making echoing around the bathhouse, and as terrified as Taka becomes at it, a part of him gets excited. He wonders what they look like, right now…

“Hey,” Mondo mutters. He’s got one hand hooked under Taka’s ass; the smaller man is half out of the pool, supported only by the water and Mondo’s body. “Keep fuckin’ talking. Tell me what you think of me.”

Taka arcs into Mondo’s chest with a gasp as the man squeezes his ass, hard. “ _ Ah, _ ” he breathes. “What I--think of you?”

“Mhm. You called me handsome just now. What else?”

“Well-- _ ngh _ \--!” Taka hauls himself up against Mondo’s body, trying to escape the nails biting into his thigh and the teeth pulling at his neck. “Mondo,  _ please, _ ” he whispers, “that--”

“Don’t say it hurts.” Mondo laughs into his skin. “You ain’t feel shit yet. Now keep talkin’.”

Maybe if he obeys, Mondo might go easier on him, and Taka can actually enjoy it instead of panicking about the chances of someone coming in on them. So he does--he just runs his mouth, as long as he can, saying everything he thought every day. “Well, I--I thought you were-- _ ngh-- _ the prettiest one, out of everyo-- _ oh,  _ God _... _ and...I love the way you dress! And your hair, and your eyes, and--”

“What about my eyes?” Mondo grabs Taka with two hands, now, and in a rush of water and power, he just about throws Taka out of the water and onto the dry ground. Taka falls back with a shocked grunt, and his heart stutters when Mondo crashes over him like a creature from the ocean. He leans back on his elbows, temporarily stunned, basking in the way his face is caressed with one hand. Droplets of water rain down around him, over his chest, into his open mouth. And Mondo just watches.

“Your eyes,” Taka begins, limply reaching up. Mondo catches him and pins his hand where it is, cupped around Mondo’s cheek, just like when Taka was touching his hair. “They...they’re beautiful, Mondo, I could stare at them...all day.”

Mondo’s teeth flash. “I shoulda known. You’d be a sap when you’re turned on.”

Fresh heat races into Taka’s face. He tries to pull away from Mondo, but there’s nowhere to go. The man holds him in place, tutting, “Nuh-uh.”

“Well, y-you asked,” Taka stammers defensively. His vision is beginning to swim.

“It ain’t a bad thing. Hell, if anything, it makes me like you more.” 

Taka is gathered by bulky arms that slide underneath him, crossing under his back and around his shoulders, holding both of them up. Mondo nuzzles under his chin; his mouth never stops moving. Lips, teeth, tongue--Taka aches to pull Mondo into a kiss, just to taste him again, but his hands are pressed tightly between their chests. He has never been smothered by another body like this. He has never felt so doted upon, so admired. The way Mondo rolls against him, lazily kissing up to his ear, dragging his tongue over his wet skin. The way he makes Taka whimper into him, without even having to slip between his legs.

_ Oh, my God. _

“Mondo…!”

“God,” Mondo hisses. His mouth is right next to Taka’s ear. “You sound so fuckin’ good. Say it again.”

“Mondo--”

“ _ Yes. _ ” It’s a moan, a hot one, that plays directly into Taka’s ear and drains through his body. And it makes him moan, too, and the small sound becomes a shout when Mondo drags his nails over the skin between Taka’s shoulders. The prefect squirms, almost fighting back, but of course there’s nowhere to escape. 

He’s panting now, too. This weight--it’s absurd, how much Taka wants more. “What do you say,” Mondo murmurs to him, “we head back to my room, huh? I’m not fucking you in the fuckin’ bathhouse. Not the first time.”

Now, Taka had already figured out where this was most likely going to go. But to hear Mondo put it as bluntly as that...it makes him freeze up. His jaw drops. “I,” he tries--nothing else comes out.

Mondo sucks lightly at his skin. “Take your time. I won’t be as gentle as I’m bein’ right now.”

This will be the only chance Taka has to refuse him. And he knows he doesn’t want to do that. But he falters at the idea of not being able to back out, or at being at Mondo’s mercy.

Wait.

_ That sounds incredible. _

“Yes.”

“Yeah?” Mondo pulls away and stares down at him with those beautiful, beautiful purple eyes. He shifts his weight onto one arm and uses the other to caress Taka’s neck, thumb at his chin. Taka just listens to himself breathe, one shallow gasp at a time. 

He tries to nod. He doesn’t know how many more times Mondo will ask him. He doesn’t know how many more times he’ll be able to answer. Fortunately, the biker doesn’t ask again. He just grins and moves away, pulling Taka up with him. For a moment, Taka’s vision goes blurry as the blood rushes out of his head, and he has to blindly reach out for Mondo to balance him. Of course Mondo is right there, holding him with both arms, laughing softly. “Easy now,” he says. “Don’t you dare pass out on me, kyoudai. You can do that afterwards.”

“Afterwards,” Taka says stupidly. He doesn’t know why the idea makes him so giddy.

“That’s not important now, though, is it?” They step out of the pool, but it feels like they never left it, not with how close Mondo is staying to him. They’re still a tangle of arms, and even as Taka goes to answer, he’s stopped by another long kiss. It’s becoming easier to respond to them, though it still takes Taka a moment to realize that he’s actually being kissed. And each time, he feels that same foreign spark of bliss, a thing that he’s been searching for all his life. He doesn’t want it to stop.

When they part, it isn’t Taka’s decision. It’s Mondo’s, who anxiously pulls Taka in front of him and guides him towards the bench. His fingers press into Taka’s hips, and his thumb skims under his waistband as he mumbles, “Hurry up. Or else--”

“I am, I am--”

“--who knows what I’ll do to you, privacy be damned.” Mondo pinches Taka and the prefect flinches back into him, groaning at the teeth that nip at his shoulder.

“Okay,” Taka says weakly. It’s hard to command his legs to move forward and his hands to grab at his towel and Mondo’s clothes, and with all the blood in his body starting to spiral towards his groin, control is a very hard thing to maintain.

Mondo only lets go of him to accept the clothes Taka throws at him. He pulls the tank top over his head, not even bothering to put his arms in, and hastily stuffs his arms in his jacket. Taka watches him as he fumbles to tuck his towel around his waist. Hesitantly he says, “Isn’t--isn’t it still wet--”

“Who the fuck  _ cares? _ ” Mondo cards his hands through Taka’s hair, eyeing him hungrily. It makes Taka’s skin tingle with some dark promise. “Let’s just get out of here.”

Somehow, they end up stumbling through the door of the bathhouse together. The air outside is even colder, though Taka can’t really tell, what with the way they’re practically fused into each other. Mondo reluctantly keeps a slight distance, though he stays close enough to keep one hand firmly rooted to Taka’s hip. Taka’s only worried that he’ll end up ripping the towel away from him. “Be careful, Mondo,” he warns him quietly.

Their bare feet are loud, too loud, in the huge hall. It makes Taka wince--they left their shoes in the sauna.  _ Oh, well. _ At least it's too dark for anyone to see their disheveled states.

“Of what?” snorts Mondo. “Our rooms are right there. Besides, who--”

And just as he’s saying that, movement flickers at the edge of Taka’s vision. Like an oiled unit--or perhaps just two horny deers caught in the headlights--they spin towards it together. Mondo quickly steps away from him (though he keeps his fingers wrapped around Taka’s wrist). Taka’s heart leaps right into his throat, and he prepares to defend himself; Mondo’s already demanding, “Who’s there?”

But it’s only Sakura, headed for the stairs from her room. The huge girl freezes as she notices them. Neither party speaks for a long moment, and it’s Sakura who says something first: “Oh, hello. I’m sorry. Did I startle you?”

“No, it’s alright,” Taka blurts. “We’re just--coming back from the sauna.”

“That’s nice,” Sakura deadpans. It’s hard to tell, but her eyes might flicker to their joined hands. They fix on Taka and Mondo again in an instant, though.

Mondo clears his throat. “Where--uh, where are you going?”

“I’m fetching tea for Asahina. Would you two like some?”

“No!” both boys exclaim in unison. And then, in a kinder tone, Taka says, “No, thank you, Sakura. Have a good night.”

Sakura nods at them, and she says, “Goodnight,” as she lumbers past them. Taka turns away, unable to handle the embarrassment of nearly being caught, but he notices the look she regards them with right before he does. And now that he thinks about it, there was definitely a knowing edge to her voice.  _ It’s only Sakura, _ he reasons before he can panic.  _ She wouldn’t tell. Especially if she's with Asahina again tonight. _

Mondo seems unreasonably stiff, too, especially when he finally moves again and ushers Taka towards their rooms. “Fuckin’ close call, Taka…”

Taka shudders at the purr in Mondo’s tone. “She wouldn’t have known anything out of the ordinary was happening if you’d stop clinging,” he retorts in a fierce whisper.

“You  _ want _ me to stop touching you?”

“...No.”

“Then--” Mondo’s hand moves up to Taka’s elbow, and the biker pulls him forward.  _ The dominance in his grip… _

“Hold on,” Taka begs as they reach their doors. He glances over his shoulder and down the hall, making sure they’re truly alone. (He forgets the task at hand when Mondo all but cages him against the wall with his body.) “B-Byakuya...is right next door to you, isn’t he? Shouldn’t...shouldn’t we...go to my room?”

Mondo props his head on Taka’s shoulder. His hands run up and down Taka’s body, and the prefect stiffens at the line being drawn from his navel to his collar. “That’s smart,” Mondo admits, “but you left your card with the rest of your uniform in the bathhouse, didn’t you?”

“Oh.”  _ Fuck-- _

“‘S what I thought. And I’m not going back to get it. So.” The finger between his collarbones becomes a full hand, and that hand moves up to tightly cover Taka’s mouth. Taka whimpers and closes his eyes as Mondo mouths at his neck and continues, “You’re just gonna have to be quiet, now, aren’t you?”

Taka can hear the thudding of his heart so loudly that he’s surprised Mondo doesn’t comment on it. “Okay,” he tries to say, but it comes out muffled. And the sound of his muted voice does something to him, knowing that Mondo is stifling him like a secret. The fabric of his shorts begins to strain; if they don’t get inside the room right now, he might--he might--

“Good.” Mondo’s voice is so smooth. So intimidating. He drags Taka over to his door, and he keeps his hand over Taka’s mouth while he rummages in his jacket’s pocket for his door key. It almost feels like he’s trying to drug Taka with the scent of musk and cleanser from the bathhouse. It almost feels like it’s working.

There’s a  _ beep _ and a click as Mondo finally gets the door open, and the biker pushes it in so hard that Taka’s afraid it might fall off the hinges. He’s shoved in after, and he’s released so that Mondo can shut and lock the door behind them. He isn’t even given time to gather his bearings before he’s spun around, shoved against the door, and caught in a kiss more bruising than the others.

It’s clear how much more confident Mondo is, now that they’re safe in the enclosure of his room. It’s lit only by the lamp on the desk, keeping them shrouded in the safety of near-darkness. Taka’s movements are desperate, too, but they lag in comparison to how intentionally Mondo drags against him. Somehow, the biker simultaneously shrugs his way out of his jacket and tank top without breaking for more than a moment. The edge of the doorframe pokes into Taka’s back the harder Mondo pushes him into it--he doesn’t mind. How can he, if he’s rewarded by Mondo tonguing into his mouth?

It almost feels like Mondo’s trying to stuff his tongue down Taka’s throat. And Taka would let him if it were possible, even if it does hurt when their teeth bang together. It does become a little hard to breathe when a hand comes around his neck like a collar, fitting snug right under his chin. A part of Taka’s body reacts accordingly: he jerks upwards, gripping Mondo a little harder to try and push him away. Mondo doesn’t budge.

“Mondo,” Taka gasps the moment Mondo frees his mouth. “Please--” He grabs at Mondo’s fingers; the biker just chuckles darkly.

“Jesus. You already sound so desperate.” His fingers push into Taka a little harder, drawing a sharper sound.

“ _ Owada! _ ”

“Hey! Wrong name.” A knee is shoved between Taka’s legs, and the sound he makes at the sudden friction is  _ disgusting. _ His eyes roll in pleasure, and he barely hears Mondo snarl into his ear, “Give me more reasons to fuck the shit out of you. I’m askin’, here. I’ve wanted you to for days now.”

Taka has to admit, the lack of steady airflow serves greatly in the way of sharpening his sensitivity. He almost wants Mondo to choke him harder, but the edges of his sight are going black. Mondo’s pushing a little too hard, and as good as it feels, he needs to breathe. “Mo--Mondo--”

Mondo sighs and lets go. He lets Taka inhale once, content to disrupt his calm by grinding his leg into Taka’s erection. He grins at the ensuing moan and pulls his fingers through Taka’s hair. “So fucking good,” he whispers. “This is why I don’t care as much for girls.”

“Why’s that, again?” Taka rasps. His hands have a mind of their own, and right now, all they want to do is explore the expanses of Mondo’s arms and back. They skim over the bumps, the dips, generating heat wherever they go. He can tell Mondo likes it.

“For one thing,” Mondo says as he mouths at Taka’s neck again, “they’re so fuckin’--delicate. Can’t be sure if I’ll break ‘em or not.”

“Br--break them? Mondo--”

“Relax.” Mondo does that thing again, where he kisses and bites around Taka’s jaw up to his temples, and there’s something really cute about the way the drying curls of his pompadour tickles Taka’s face. Of course, whatever gentleness exists there is quickly nullified by the hands that grope at his ass and yank at his hair. “I know what I’m doing.”

Taka clutches Mondo’s face, all at once feeling frantic. “So--so you  _ have _ slept with girls.”

He  _ hates  _ the frown he’s answered with. “I mean, yeah. Why?” asks Mondo. “You jealous?”

For some reason, this hurts. A pang of  _ something _ stings Taka’s heart, and he briefly forgets how good it feels whenever Mondo pushes his knee up. “No, I--it’s just, well, that you s-said--”

“Hey. Hey.” And for just this moment, Mondo’s voice drops to a tender note, and somehow Taka can tell that the emotion guiding the hand that cups his face is more than lust. “Don’t be thinkin’ that shit,” Mondo whispers. “I see it in your eyes.”

Taka shrinks against the door. “What do you see?”

“Somethin’ I feel all the time. Feel like you’re not enough, huh?” Mondo kisses him hard, almost urgently, but it’s short. “Snap out of it. Focus on me. I wouldn’t be doin’ this if I didn’t want you.”

Taka opens his mouth, but the words don’t come out. Mondo catches it, though, and he says, “Say it. I know you got somethin’ to say. Or ask.”

“Do you?” When Mondo doesn’t seem to understand, Taka mutters, “I mean, do you...want me?” It’s stupid, he knows, and that’s why he didn’t want to ask it. But he has to trust that Mondo doesn’t care about that. 

And he’s right.

“ _ Want _ you, huh. Okay. Let’s see.”

Just like that, gentle Mondo is gone again. Both hands thrust under Taka’s wet shorts, right against his bare ass. Taka almost shrieks, but Mondo’s getting good at silencing his sounds with his mouth. All Taka can do is hold on for dear life as Mondo lifts him in the air with an astonishing ease and turns them around. The biker stumbles a bit, but he only drops Taka when he reaches the bed. One second, the prefect is free-falling; the other, he’s hitting the soft mattress with an  _ oomph! _ And then Mondo is there, just like he was in the bathhouse, looming over him like a succubus.

“Mondo--” 

A hand claps over Taka’s mouth; he goes cross-eyed trying to look at Mondo when he gets right in Taka’s face. He nudges Taka up the bed, enough for him to be able to straddle him at the hip. “In a little bit, the only thing I wanna hear from your fuckin’ mouth is my name,” Mondo hums, tracing one of Taka’s ribs with a fingernail and leaving goosebumps in its wake. “But I’m gonna guess this is your first time, right?” Taka nods after a second of embarrassment. “Right. Then I don’t expect you to do a lot. What I  _ do  _ expect you to do are two things. One, be a good hall monitor and do every fucking thing I tell you to. Two, believe me when I tell you that I  _ want _ you. You got that shit?”

There’s so much blood rushing through Taka’s face and in his cock. Every inch of his skin is ablaze. “Yes,” he mumbles into Mondo’s palm. 

“Alright.” Mondo then bends down and plants kisses over Taka’s forehead. He’s frighteningly gentle about it. “I’ve  _ wanted _ you since the moment you pranced into the gym like a fuckin’ knight in shining armor,” he sighs. His knee is back between Taka’s legs. “Hey. Grind against me like you were back there.  _ Yeah-- _ fuck, there you go. Good boy. Anyway. Yeah, you believe that? You got me way back  _ then _ .”

Taka’s free to reply a moment later, and he does. Gladly. “ _ How? _ ” He’s shocked at how timid he sounds. Initially he’s revolted, but since Mondo seems to eat it up, he decides it’s a good thing.

“Oh, you know.” Mondo begins to massage one of Taka’s legs, and every time his finger skims a little too low into his inner thigh, Taka chokes on a whimper. “I could tell you had a nice ass. And your eyes--well, goddamn.” He chuckles to himself and gets nose-to-nose with Taka before murmuring, “You are just about the prettiest fucking boy I have  _ ever _ seen. And, what do you know? You’ve actually got a personality behind it all, too.”

Taka’s heart and dick swell at the same time. “You mean that,” he realizes.

“Duh, Taka. And naturally one of the first things I’ve wanted to do is fuck you into my bed until you can’t speak.” Mondo smiles. “What do you think?”

“Shit,” Taka breathes, and Mondo’s eyes light up. “Whoa! I got you to swear!” he exclaims triumphantly. “But remember, we can’t let ol’ Togami hear next door, so--”

“ _ Please. _ ” Urgency floods through Taka’s voice. Mondo’s been teasing him for far too long now. “If you--if you’re serious, then--just--”

Mondo’s lids fall halfway over his eyes. “That bad?”

“--Yes!”

“I guess we can take it slow another night.”

“Another--” Taka swallows his words.

“Alright,” Mondo grunts, and finally--finally!--he moves along again. Taka just lets Mondo take him: he lets Mondo grab both of his wrists and pin them above his head with one huge hand; he hardly struggles when Mondo takes his sweet old time with running his free hand down Taka’s body. He whimpers the way he’s been directed, in time with Mondo’s lips, moaning louder when Mondo bites him harder. He arches up, hopelessly concentrated on touching as much of Mondo with whatever he has free. He wishes he could focus more on how wonderful it feels to be restrained like this, or wonder how on earth he’s faring so well this far along, but there’s no room left in his brain to mull over these things. All he can think is  _ more, more, more. _

Mondo’s hand pauses right before it would dip under the waistband of Taka’s shorts. “If you cum the second I touch you,” he warns Taka, “I’m gonna be  _ really _ fuckin’ mad.”

“My God,” Taka gasps. “I won’t, I won’t--!”

“That’s right. You won’t.”

Taka groans and clenches down on his teeth to distract himself. He doesn’t want to, but if Mondo keeps talking to him like that and holding him down like this, he may not have a choice. And when Mondo’s mouth finds a new, sensitive spot under his chin to suckle at--well, he’s already getting closer to the edge than he wants to be.

He expects Mondo to go right ahead and rip off his shorts. So he’s confused when Mondo touches him everywhere  _ except _ around his cock, even if it may feel nice when the man begins to rub his thighs, alternating between both every few seconds. “Mondo,” he mumbles, “can’t you just--you know--”

“Shut up.” The punch in his simple order hits Taka almost as hard as the bolt of electricity that courses through his nerves, courtesy of the teeth that cautiously close around his nipple. This is what draws the first near-scream from him: “ _ A-ah, Mon--!” _

Mondo barely has enough time to extinguish the noise with his hand. “What did I fucking tell you?” he complains. He holds Taka’s mouth closed so tight that it hurts. Now free, Taka covers Mondo’s hand with his own, terrified of being heard. “You’ll pay for that.”

Taka ruts against him in his own way of showing compliance. He’s never seen himself like this, so  _ animalistic. _ He quite likes it, he thinks. Though, when Mondo’s hand disappears from his shorts, he likes it a little less. 

It helps when Mondo pinches his other nipple, inciting that same whirl of static pleasure and pain. He shrieks again, but with three hands covering him, it’s hardly a muffle. Mondo moans softly and grumbles, “Fuck, keep doing that. That’s so hot,  _ God, _ those sounds, Taka, shit!”

And this is what occupies the next few minutes, that torture. Mondo’s tongue swirls around Taka’s nipple as he pinches and rolls the other between his thumb and pointer; he suppresses every cry and moan with his hand, and soon enough, curiosity triumphs over fear: Taka decides to kick up the volume. Just to see what Mondo will do. So, when Mondo gets comfortable and sucks Taka’s nipple into his mouth, he releases a scream louder than the rest.

The pressure on his face immediately doubles. He’s thrust deep into the mattress, and his body screams as it begins to suffocate him. “Goddammit, what the hell?” Mondo’s eyes flash in the darkness--with anger, with arousal, Taka can’t tell. “Jesus, I didn’t think you’d be a _ brat _ ! Fuck!”

Taka wants to smile, but any facial movement is restricted. He tries to bat his eyes, and even though he knows it’s a poor excuse of a seductive maneuver, it does the job. Mondo actually  _ growls _ and--oh, Jesus, he digs his fingers into Taka’s cheeks and drags him off the bed. Taka scrambles to prop himself up before it hurts too much, although he suspects that there’s enough adrenaline pumping through him that nothing could hurt at this point.

Mondo seems keen on testing that. He exchanges Taka’s mouth for his neck (boy, he really likes this whole choking thing) and pulls Taka close. “You’re gonna make me do things I’ll regret,” he snarls. “You get that shit?”

“Do it,” Taka blurts.

Mondo’s eyes widen. “You don’t know what you’re asking for. I thought--”

“ _ Do it. _ ” Taka’s got no idea why he’s so adamant about this, but he is. He clutches Mondo’s shoulders and begs with everything he’s got. “Do whatever you want,  _ please _ .”

Mondo blinks slowly at him. “You’re a fuckin’ freak in bed,” he decides. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The final stage kicks into play. Taka recognizes this because there’s that surge of aggression, present in every muscle that Mondo uses to literally throw him against the headboard. He loves being cornered by Mondo, restrained by Mondo, because the feeling of being  _ desired _ is so lovely and foreign and intoxicating. He whines when Mondo laces their fingers together and holds one of Taka’s hands against the headboard; he holds tighter when Mondo roughly parts his legs and wedges his knees between them.

With his fingers gripping at Taka’s shorts, Mondo keeps the smaller man silent against his mouth. He does, however, allow the little cries and gasps that occur whenever he tugs at Taka’s lips. Taka doesn’t know where he’s touching or what he’s grabbing--he’s drunk on Mondo’s scent, and he’s sure that every time he’s near the man after this, he’ll remember exactly what happened this night.

A rush of cold gusts over his skin as Mondo pulls one side of his shorts down to his knee. Taka’s breath hitches. “M-Mondo.”

“Taka.” Mondo pulls so hard at the fabric that Taka is scared it’ll tear.

“I f-feel embarrassed--”

“I’ve got no fuckin’ idea why,” Mondo sighs and grabs Taka’s chin, forcing the prefect to look up at him. “I already like what I see,” he insists breathlessly. “Remember what I said? To believe me?”

Taka licks his lips and nods quickly.

“Okay. Then pull your leg through this, would you?”

He’s terrified, but Mondo’s given him every reason in the world to believe that it’ll be alright. Though Taka keeps his eyes closed, he obeys, and the second his shorts are off, he stiffens to brace himself. 

He expects Mondo to stare at him and say something, so it’s a welcome surprise when all at once, fingers wrap around his bare length. Taka thrashes against the headboard, a loud whine bursting through his mouth. “ _ Mondo _ \-- _! _ ”   


“Oh,” Mondo groans, right against his cheek. “My God, I could tell you were packin’, but--shit.” He’s slow to pull his fingers up and down Taka’s cock, and it has an inverse relationship with how fast Taka’s body begins to shake. He lets go of Taka’s hand and lets the prefect cling to him, gasping and whining like a bitch in heat. “Louder,” Mondo growls to him.

“ _ Ah-- _ faster,” Taka pants. He bucks into Mondo’s hand, chasing the friction. “ _ Please! _ ”

Mondo spreads Taka’s legs farther apart with his thighs, causing Taka to lose his balance in his seat. He hangs rigid from Mondo’s neck, and his arms begin to ache with the effort it takes to keep himself from coming undone. Mondo helps him by roughly gripping the back of his neck and keeping him close to his chest. His hand works faster, and Taka’s head tilts back. “ _ A-a-ah, _ Mondo,  _ fuck! _ ” he cries.

“Where’d you learn how to sound so fucking  _ hot? _ ” Mondo lets go of Taka’s neck and somewhat unexpectedly pulls Taka’s hands away from his neck, forcing him to fall back to the bed. Immediately the chokehold returns, squeezing his throat, but this time Taka is ready. He welcomes it, grabbing at Mondo’s wrist, pulling him closer. His eyes roll back in his head as Mondo keeps pumping him, and underneath Taka’s frantic whimpering, he can hear Mondo moan at the sight of him.

“Don’t cum yet, Taka,” Mondo mumbles. His hand stills for the moment, content to thumb at Taka’s tip. “Not yet.”

Taka grinds his teeth so hard together that he can hear them squeak. “Don’t stop,” he pants. 

He supposes Mondo can’t say no to that quite yet. The biker picks up the pace again, and Taka’s whole body begins to move on its own accord. The electricity is racing down his skin in an exodus to his hips, where it gathers and covers the length of Taka’s cock. It’s becoming too much. _ Too much. _ Taka jerks against Mondo’s hands, begging, louder and louder until--

Mondo’s touch disappears, and the chokehold lessens. It’s enough for Taka to surge upwards in the instant sense of betrayal. “Mondo!”

“Shhh!” Mondo pushes Taka back down, and he keeps a firm hand right above Taka’s heart as he carefully picks his way off the bed. Taka watches him with his eyes, hot and heavy and helpless. “I swear I won’t make you wait much longer.”

“Promise,” Taka begs, and Mondo glances over at him. The side of his mouth tilts upwards in a wicked smile.

“I promise.”

It’s enough to get Taka to try and still himself. It doesn’t really work, though--Mondo’s stepping out of his pants and underwear, using his free hand to guide him. Taka’s eyes zero in on his erection, and he freezes for a split second before he begins to subconsciously strain against the pressure on his chest. “Oh my God,” he stammers. He watches Mondo lean over to the cabinet beside his bed and pull out a small container. “Oh, Mondo--”

“It’s yours,” Mondo purrs, straddling Taka in one fluid movement. Taka has no idea where to look--at Mondo’s cock, at Mondo’s face, at Mondo’s hands. “Yeah? And you’ll fuckin’ take it. Just like you want.”

“I--” Taka keeps struggling. But it’s not genuine: he wants--no,  _ needs _ \--Mondo to hold him down and force him to do what he wants. And he’s sure Mondo can tell.

He shudders as Mondo bends down. “I’m gonna flip you over,” the man whispers, “and you just have to trust me. Can you do that?”

“Y-yes--”

“And I want you lookin’ back at me, got that shit? I wanna see you cum. But I gotta stretch you out first.”

The words are like poison. Taka chokes on it. “Yes,” he says again.

Mondo nods approvingly. As promised, he grabs Taka’s shoulders and flips the man face down onto the mattress. Taka gathers a nervous breath as he props himself up on his elbow, but just as quickly, he’s pushed down again. He tries to look over his shoulder, managing, “Wh--Mondo--”

“Ass up.” A sharp smack accompanies his words, and as Taka rocks forward in the bed with a loud whimper, he automatically curves up. Shame and pleasure become one potent sensation--as Mondo’s hand smooths over Taka’s ass, it becomes impossible to distinguish between them. 

“This is the hard part,” Mondo warns him.

“Just--do it.” All the same, Taka’s fingers claw at the mattress sheet, because somehow he knows that this will hurt. He isn’t ready, though, for Mondo’s weight to suddenly appear over his back. He doesn’t expect the fingers that probe at his mouth, getting him to open up. He has no idea why he starts sucking the moment they pass his lips. What he does know is that he could listen to the way Mondo’s breath stutters forever.

The action fills Taka with a dark kind of glee. There’s something so horribly attractive about the way Mondo fucks his face with his fingers, eventually ending up knuckles-deep. Taka slurps noisily, threading his tongue through Mondo’s fingers, always moaning. He pushes away the daunting thought of what he’s preparing himself for. It’s enough to hear Mondo groan, “There’s no fucking way you’re a virgin. There’s... _ fuck, _ there’s no  _ way… _ ”

Taka moans and tries to force himself farther down Mondo’s fingers, but the biker pulls out of his mouth with a shaky sigh. “Alright,” he says, “should be enough. Hold still.”

It’s a simple command that says nothing about how hard it is to follow. Taka does his best to comply, but he can’t help but jerk away when he feels a pull at his asscheeks. “Mondo,” he grits out. He can feel himself sweating profusely. “I don’t--ah--”

“I know what I’m doing, Taka. On my life. Relax.” 

It helps when Mondo preemptively holds him down by the hips. Taka pulls his arms underneath him and bites down on the fitted sheet--he’s sure Mondo won’t mind. He doesn’t know if the reason he’s shaking is because of his heartbeat, or because of Mondo’s touch. He thinks he’s just about got a handle on how nervous he is when--

“ _ Mondo! _ ”

Taka shoves his face into the mattress to muffle his scream. Mondo was smart to hold him down: the moment Mondo’s first finger slips into his asshole, his whole body fights back. It wants to escape the foreign object probing past his opening-- _ Taka _ wants to escape. But Mondo will have none of that. He’s back in Taka’s ear, shushing him and kissing his cheek to distract him. “Take it, take it,” Mondo urges him, ignoring the strangled sobs that only get louder the farther his finger slips in. “ _ Take _ it, Taka, I know you fucking can. Look--there--was it that bad?”

Taka strains against Mondo’s hand. “It burns,” he gasps.

“It won’t. Not for long. Really.”

Taka doesn’t believe him at first. And then, as promised, the initial burn begins to subside to a simple throb. It isn’t pleasurable, not yet, so Taka tries to turn his head for a kiss. Mondo meets him eagerly, and Taka lets it distract him. It’s certainly helpful, because when the second finger starts pushing in, he’s far more prepared. He has to break away to bite at the sheets again, though--but he doesn’t scream. And that’s a start.

Mondo coaxes him all the way through. “There you go. ‘S a fuckin’ good boy.” He inhales; Taka hears the way it falters. “You’re so tight. My God.”

His hand moves up to cup the nape of Taka’s neck and pushes him against the bed. Taka’s legs are shaking so fucking bad. “This will hurt,” Mondo warns him, and before Taka can prepare himself, his fingers begin moving again.

A long, stuttering whine soaks into the bedsheets. Taka’s arms fly out from underneath him as he searches for the edges of the mattress, where he hooks his fingers into the little lip and holds on for dear life. When he realizes fighting back won’t make it easier, he tries to rock to Mondo’s rhythm; it isn’t long before something new starts to permeate Taka’s body. With each thrust of Mondo’s fingers, the ring of muscles loosens a little more, and slowly but surely it begins to feel... _ good. _

When this happens, Taka’s whines become moans. “Shit,” he breathes. “O-oh... _ oh… _ ”

“See? Feels good, huh?” Mondo sounds very pleased with himself. He pulls almost all the way out and then thrusts in, harder than before, all the way up to his knuckles.

Taka’s arms flex on their own, hauling him up the bed; his eyes roll back with the sudden pleasure. “Yes, Mondo,  _ oh... _ yes, I--I liked that--” His words jumble in his mouth as his face is pulled off the bed by the hair. It’s like he’s being molded into a perfect curve, with his head and ass nearest Mondo’s body. He holds himself up by his elbows because the bones in his legs are useless mush.

Mondo’s fingers pick up the pace. “Fuck yeah, you did,” he says roughly.

“ _ A-a-a-h! _ ” Taka’s head falls between his shoulders when Mondo lets go of his hair; he tries to keep himself sitting up, but even his elbows threaten to give out. The pain is gone, now, and there is only a scarlet haze that moves through him like venom. His hips roll against Mondo’s fingers, bringing him deeper, deeper, until Mondo touches something different inside of him. Lightning cracks across Taka’s skin and he arcs right off the bed, into Mondo’s chest; his shriek goes right into Mondo’s palm. 

“That’s your prostate, smartass,” Mondo growls. He pulls Taka up until he’s flush against Mondo’s body. “Learn about that shit in school?”

Taka clenches around Mondo’s fingers. “ _ Mmm, _ ” he tries to say. Maybe it’s good that he can’t really talk right now, because he’s sure that nothing coherent would’ve come out of that utterance.

Mondo’s fucking him in earnest, now, and Taka’s breaths are coming faster and shallower. He manages to free his mouth from Mondo’s hand, and he gasps, “Mondo, I--Mondo--”

And the fingers pull out.

“One second,” Mondo grunts. Taka falls on all fours and looks behind him, rendered speechless by the loss of heat and pressure in his ass. He can’t make much out of Mondo’s dimly lit form, but he thinks he sees something wet shining on Mondo’s fingers. He watches, transfixed, as Mondo reaches down and slicks his own dick in lube-- _ oh, that’s right. _ That’s about to go in him.

Taka doesn’t know why he looks away so fast when Mondo turns back to him. It isn’t like he was caught seeing something he shouldn’t. And yet Mondo treats it that way. He grabs Taka’s throat and manhandles him against his chest; his voice is barely audible under the sharp cry. “You liked watchin’ that, huh, Taka? Liked seein’ what I’m gonna fuck you with?”

“Yes--”

“You  _ want _ me to fuck you with it?”

“Yes, Mondo--”

“Then say please.”

“ _ Please! _ ”

“My God, I think I might love you.” 

There’s no time to think about what has just been said. The only hesitation comes when Mondo carefully positions himself in front of Taka’s opening, and then--

_ Heaven. _

It’s an explosion inside of him. It’s like Mondo’s displacing all of the pent-up ecstasy inside of his gut and sending it blooming through his blood. Because Mondo already prepared him, it only takes a moment to adjust to the girth of his cock. The rest of it is a drunken heat that blinds Taka for a moment--he can’t even shriek. He doesn’t recognize the strangled sounds that leak from between his teeth. There’s no way it’s coming from him.

For the first time, Mondo is actually louder than him, and by the time he fills Taka as much as he can, he’s panting. He hugs Taka to his chest and moans into his sweaty shoulder. “So warm,” he whispers. “So tight. Oh my shit. Taka.”

“ _ Yes-- _ !”

He wishes Mondo would hold him close forever, but his hands move down to hold either side of Taka’s hips. He guides Taka’s movements, and Taka’s glad for it, because he can’t form a single straight thought in his mind. “Like this,” Mondo says. His voice is strained. He moves Taka’s hips up and down, showing him how to ride properly. When he’s satisfied with Taka’s hesitant movements, he returns one hand to its original position over Taka’s throat.

Their bodies move together in a filthy dance. Each time Mondo thrusts up, Taka grinds down, and the rhythm of their moaning falls in time with the other. Taka covers his mouth before his tongue can fall out and closes his eyes; he leans back against Mondo’s shoulder and tries to control how quickly the endorphins cloud his mind. His progress is greatly hindered by the dirty things Mondo snarls into his ear.

“You feel so good, Taka,  _ fuck-- _ so tight and good and--you like it? You like this?” Mondo squeezes Taka’s throat and wrings a high-pitched keen out of him. “Like it when I’m rough with you? Huh? Fuck, I wanna  _ break _ you--”

“Break me,” Taka begs him. There are tears in his eyes. “ _ Harder. _ ”

Mondo moans. His whole arm slides under Taka’s chin, and the extra muscle effectively traps Taka in this angle. When his free hand slips over Taka’s length, fireworks burst behind his eyelids. He can’t take it. He can’t take it, all of these stimuli. It feels so good and he can’t stop moaning, there’s no way he can be quiet. He can’t stop gasping Mondo’s name.

His world is reduced to the cock fucking into him, the hand frantically jerking him off, and the gorgeous voice in his ear. “I’ve wanted this for so long,” Mondo whispers. “You have no fucking idea.”

Taka can hear their skin slapping together. It’s the hottest thing he’s ever heard in his life. “It--feels so good--”

“I know-- _ fuck! _ ” Mondo’s hand shudders around Taka’s cock. “Fuck, Taka--I’m so close--”

Taka wants to say  _ Me too, _ but he’s lost the ability to form full words. His tongue rolls out of his mouth and his head is gone, lost in ecstasy. The pace Mondo’s keeping him at is bruising, and he’s got no idea how he isn’t in a world of pain. He just wants to be  _ filled. _

The arm around his neck flexes and tightens. Taka gags for a second, but he’s not going anywhere. The body enveloping him is tightening, constricting, preparing for release--and he knows he’s doing the same. He can feel Mondo’s hand becoming slick with his own pre-cum. He’s going rigid, every part of him. He can’t breathe. 

“M-Mondo,” Taka groans. “Mondo!”

“Yes, Taka--I’m right here,” the biker gasps. “Cum for me. Cum for me right fucking now.” The arm disappears and he covers Taka’s mouth right before biting down on Taka’s shoulder. “Cum,” he breathes, and his cock hits Taka’s prostate like it’s a red button.

Taka’s world explodes.

Stars fill his vision when he reaches his orgasm. If it wasn’t for Mondo holding him in place, he probably would’ve fallen off the fucking bed. He can’t even process the waves of heat rolling through his body, one right after another. It starts in his thighs and blossoms like a shockwave--he can feel it in his fucking fingers. Emotions surge through him--pleasure, pain, lust, exhaustion--and hold his body taut before, finally, they fade away some eternity later.

It takes a long, long time for Taka’s muscles to relax. When they do, he falls lifelessly to the bed--Mondo must have released him when he came. With a faint sense of sadness Taka realizes that he had missed Mondo’s orgasm. He can’t summon the strength to look for the biker behind him, but thankfully, a reassuring weight falls on top of him a moment after.

Neither say a word for a long time. Taka listens to them both breathe: it’s heavy at first, and clearly filled with satisfaction. Eventually, they level out, and that is when Mondo’s hoarse voice fills the room. “Fucking hell, Taka.”

Taka gives a weak laugh. “That was...amazing,” he whispers.

“For your...first time?” Mondo snorts incredulously. “I don’t...think...anyone’s made me cum...so hard.”

Now that the arousal has been flushed out of him, Taka’s chest fills with muted pride. “Really?”

“Why...would I lie to you?” Mondo presses a kiss against Taka’s temple and murmurs, “That was everything I’ve...wanted.”

Taka smiles, but it’s all he can do in this moment. They’re quiet again for a while. It’s oddly comfortable, all things considered, though Taka begins to get a little worried because he has absolutely no fucking clue what he’s supposed to say after that. He doesn’t think  _ thank you _ is the proper response.

He isn’t surprised when Mondo is the first to speak again. “Hey. Y’know what this means?”

That statement could, really, go anywhere. Uncertainty dampens Taka’s blissful mood. “What?”

Mondo sounds obnoxiously smug. “I lasted longer than you. Means I won.”

It takes Taka five seconds to figure out what Mondo’s talking about. And then it hits him. “Wait, I thought--” Somehow he rouses himself enough to push Mondo off of him and roll onto his back. He looks to the side, glaring at his partner. “I thought...we were done with that!”

Mondo smirks over at him. “Yeah. But I just want you to remember.” His hand drifts over to Taka’s face and brushes a piece of sweaty hair away from his forehead. His smirk becomes softer. “I wasn’t too rough, was I?”

Taka shakes his head adamantly. “No. No. I wanted it.”

“Yeah? How bad?”

“More than you,” Taka confesses. “I think. I just...how could I have asked?”

“Well, you know. I just go for the shit I want. Someone’s gotta do it, right?”

Taka blushes for some reason, and he looks up at the ceiling. How did he get into this mess? He never authorized these feelings of admiration and endearment entry into his heart. He’s heard some people’s warnings about post-sex vulnerability, and he suspects this is what they mean. But it feels so nice, and cozy, and...he doesn’t really care. “Yeah,” he says softly. “I think that’s smart.”

Mondo chuckles, sounding pleased. He pauses, and then says, “Well. You’re gonna have to help me clean this shit up tomorrow, Taka.” He moves one of his hands into Taka’s line of sight, and the prefect reddens at the sight of his own cum glistening on Mondo’s palm.

“Oh, God,” he mutters. “Did I--did I make a mess?”

“Nah. I don’t give a shit, anyway. That’s tomorrow’s business.” Mondo shifts onto his side, facing Taka. He reaches out, and after a moment, Taka tentatively wriggles into his arms. “You’re obviously spending the night here.”

“Obviously,” Taka agrees. A stupid smile crosses his face. He wonders how many people have seen Mondo this tender. He knows he can die happy, now, knowing that he is one of them. He lifts his face up and kisses Mondo’s chin in his fatigued happiness.

He hopes it never has to end.

Mondo strokes Taka’s hair. “Remind me to thank Naegi tomorrow morning,” he says quietly. “He’s gonna be real fuckin’ happy to see us getting along.”

“I will. I’ll have to pay my thanks, too, of course.”

“You really are the Ultimate Principal’s Bitch,” Mondo mutters. His forehead falls against Taka’s. “But I don’t hate it.”

Taka curls into Mondo’s chest and closes his eyes. Maybe they’ll all die here. Maybe he’ll never experience that rush again. But tonight is theirs, and theirs alone--and maybe that’s enough, in the end. It’s enough to drift to sleep in the arms of a biker gang leader, which, in Taka’s humble opinion, is one of the safest places to be. He wonders if he’ll feel this security every again--he wonders if he’s felt it before. He wonders if…

No. It’s a stupid thought. And Mondo’s already snoring away, right in front of Taka’s face. Something akin to love wells up in Taka’s chest, and he slips an arm over Mondo’s side before closing his eyes.

Yes, this is good enough.

  
  


END

**Author's Note:**

> i seriously hate writing smut now and the only reason i did here was because the sauna scene was UNFORGIVABLY gay and i had to fill in the gaps. i do plan to write for them in the future (of course i say that about everything so take that with a grain of salt), but if i end up actually following through, it will be NOTHING like this. i legitimately adore their relationship and i can't get over the fact that they were literally nipped in the bud and you cannot convince me they weren't some item prior to their memory wipe, so. this fic did not do justice to how much i actually respect and love them and i think i might just have to post some angst to prove how i actually feel...
> 
> -YES YOU CAN FIND ME UNDER THE SAME USERNAME ON TIKTOK-


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